US report draws flak for denying China’s vital WTO contributions

CHINA yesterday strongly opposed a US report that denies the country’s contribution to the multilateral trading system and global economy after it acceded to the World Trade Organization over two decades ago.

The Ministry of Commerce said that China as the largest developing WTO member has always firmly supported the multilateral trading system, genuinely practiced multilateralism, and earnestly fulfilled its WTO commitments.

The country has continuously improved its market economy institutions and legal systems based on its national conditions, expanded high-level institutional opening-up, fully and deeply participated in the reform of the WTO, and actively helped other developing members, in particular the least developed countries, integrate into the multilateral trading system, the ministry said in the statement.

The Office of the United States Trade

Representative recently released its 2023 Report to Congress on China’s WTO Compliance.

The US side disregarded China’s achievements in fulfilling its WTO commitments, distorted its progress in building a market economy and advancing reform and opening up, and made groundless and arbitrary accusations on its economic and trade policies, the ministry said.

It stressed that the US side smeared China’s legitimate trade measures as economic coercion, labeled China’s response to the US blockade and repression as decoupling, and falsely accused China of causing overcapacity, which fully reflects the US’s unilateralism and bullying acts.

Exactly opposite to the US statements, China’s positive and constructive role in promoting the multilateral trading system has been acknowledged and appreciated globally, the ministry said.

China was the first major developing country to accept the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, played a key role in successfully concluding negotiations on the Investment Facilitation for Development, and promoted the conclusion of negotiations on a number of global digital trade rules, the ministry said.

With “America first” as its starting point, the US violated WTO rules, carried out unilateral trade bullying, and formulated discriminatory industrial policies, which has disrupted the global industrial and supply chains, seriously affected the international trade order, and undermined the common interests of WTO members, the ministry said.

The ministry called on the US side to correct its wrong deeds in a timely manner, and earnestly abide by WTO rules.